


Not So Bad After All

by TaigaRose, teaandsmut



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Camping, F/F, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-09 02:30:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20987354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaigaRose/pseuds/TaigaRose, https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandsmut/pseuds/teaandsmut
Summary: Catra and Glimmer have never got along despite the best attempts of their mutual friend Adora. Catra has been trying to ignore her crush on Glimmer for years while Glimmer can't work out why she is so bothered that someone as annoying as Catra always avoids her.When they end up stuck with each other on a camping trip, it seems like a nightmare that can only end in disaster. But between the beautiful scenery, getting lost, stormy weather, and having to survive a chilly night, Things Happen.Fluffy, smutty, modern AU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> They're in their mid-20s in this. Catra doesn't have as much of a devastating backstory as in canon so she's a little more chilled. Still her prickly self, just less world-destroyingly angry.
> 
> This started off as a Glitra week prompt fill but then we got carried away! Enjoy!

Catra tore yet another leaf into pieces, letting them sprinkle down to the ground below like a miniature version of those falling from the tree above her. She hoped it hid her from view, where she sat cross-legged on a high wall at the back of the parking lot. She hoped Adora turned up first. She hoped Glimmer cancelled.

Beside her, a backpack was half-filled with snack bars, a hoodie and spare underwear. She hadn’t been sure what to bring, not that she would have had the correct fancy hiking clothes and equipment anyway. Lonnie, enthused about her friend going camping, had offered her a ridiculous amount of technical gear that seemed better suited to an Alpine climb than what Catra hoped would be an easy trail walk. Catra had refused all but a sleeping bag, not wanting to risk looking stupid by being overprepared. Especially not in front of Glimmer.

A small, purple car pulled into the empty parking lot. Catra shrank back, trying to say out of the shafts of light from the morning’s weak autumnal sun. She would just wait until Adora arrived too, then she would go over. Or even Bow. She didn’t have a lot to say to him - he was a nice guy but he and Catra only ever hopelessly missed each other’s humor. But he would be better than nothing as a buffer between Glimmer and herself. She could wait in silence while those two chatted away. Glimmer could almost match his bubbliness. 

Her phone buzzed: Bow messaging in the group chat Adora had added her to for organizing this trip. Not that Catra ever spoke in it, of course. Adora was so keen for Catra to come on this trip, she was always trying to bring Catra in to the conversations. But she and Adora’s friends from uni were just never going to get along. Catra had known Adora since she was a child and while she had managed to get over her resentment about her new friends, they didn’t seem to like her much and Catra had no interest in trying to win them over. Adora kept inviting her to parties and days out with them both, to no avail.

Glimmer though, she was intriguing. Catra was always so  _ aware _ of her. As soon as Adora first introduced them, Catra had been too aware of her. She was constantly trying to make sure she didn’t look more at Glimmer than at anyone else. Despite rarely speaking to her, Glimmer was always in the corner of Catra’s eye at these gatherings, with her colorful hair and dry wit. So dry sometimes that even Catra sometimes laughed; usually when Glimmer’s humor was too dark for everyone else, and Catra was the only one snickering at her joke. 

Catra knew she was more than just intrigued by her but Glimmer clearly didn’t like her, so she tried to ignore it. She had been hoping it would go away for years, but still it simmered under the surface and turned her stomach when Glimmer smiled to herself at something she shouldn’t smile at. Her other friends never seemed to notice but Catra always did - she had developed a habit of glancing at Glimmer whenever someone told a particularly grim tale or dark joke. Sometimes she thought her other friends surely didn’t know Glimmer at all.

To be honest, it was starting to hurt. She almost wished to return to the defensive jealousy she wrapped herself in when Glimmer and Bow had first appeared in Adora’s life. Back when they would half-bicker, then back down for Adora’s sake. Back when they actually spoke directly to each other.

Catra checked the message. Bow, profusely apologetic and with many sobbing emojis, was cancelling on them. Something about his dads surprising him. Great. Catra didn’t bother reading the rest and instead looked across to Glimmer in her car, who visibly groaned before frantically tapping away on her phone. No new messages appeared in the group chat so Catra guessed Glimmer was messaging Adora to find out where she was, probably as horrified as Catra was at the prospect of spending a single second alone together. Though presumably for different reasons. Definitely different reasons.  _ This is going to be a nightmare. _

_ Oh my God, this is a nightmare. _

The idea of a weekend with Catra and Adora made Glimmer so anxious she thought she might literally throw up. What about all the times Adora would inevitably not be there to get between them? She never seemed to have been alone with Catra in all the time they had known each other. If you could call a handful of conversations years ago ‘knowing each other’. Glimmer had made an effort to get to know Adora’s childhood friend when they had first been introduced but Catra had been so prickly towards her and Bow that she had soon given up. 

Catra seemed to have become less resentful in the last few years, sometimes even awkwardly attempting to be friendly, but generally Catra seemed to avoid her. She seemed to leave the room more often than not when Glimmer appeared and somehow never ended up sitting near her at parties. Glimmer had concluded that Catra just didn’t like her. It hadn’t bothered her for the most part, Catra had been too irritating to want to be around anyway, all barbed comments and sarcastic asides under her breath. 

But Glimmer thought Catra was funny and sometimes wished that she would flirt with her like she did with pretty much everyone else. Catra seemed to flirt like she breathed, meaninglessly or using it as some kind of defense to unsettle anyone who asked her one too many questions, but never with Glimmer. For Glimmer, she only had terse sentences before finding a reason to slink off again. Recently this had begun annoying Glimmer an unreasonable amount. She was even more annoyed with herself for minding at all, especially when she couldn’t fathom why.

Why wasn’t Adora replying? It wasn’t like her to be late. What if Catra turned up first? They’d just have to sit in silence until Adora got there. Glimmer sent Adora another text.

Glimmer breathed a sigh of relief when Adora ran into view at the far end of the parking lot. Seconds after Adora arrived out of breath at the car, Catra appeared from nowhere and Glimmer’s stomach flipped. She was furious with Bow for cancelling, now she wouldn’t be able to pair off with him to save her from talking to Catra. And he seemed able to merrily chat with Catra despite her lack of engagement with him. Being stuck in a group of three with Catra was just... too much Catra. 

Adora shot a disapproving look at Catra, who shrugged back. Adora didn’t seem to have enough things with her, only a large carrier bag and a small backpack, and Glimmer had an awful premonition as she got out of the car to greet her.

“I’m so sorry! My coach called us in for extra training today, I just found out,” Adora rushed out.

“What?!” Glimmer exclaimed. Catra didn’t say anything.

“I can’t go, I’m really sorry.”

Glimmer glanced at Catra and caught her doing the same. “You can’t! Come on, Adora, surely that’s not fair of her,” Glimmer reasoned.

“I’m so sorry, I can’t get out of it,” said Adora, thrusting the carrier bag at Catra, who took it with a look of suspicion. “Here’s some of my kit you’ll need.” She was already turning to run back out of the parking lot.

“Adora!” Glimmer called after her.

“I’m sure you’ll have a great time without me, I’ll see you when you’re back,” she shouted over her shoulder, jogging off in the direction she’d come from.

“ADORA!" Glimmer groaned when Adora was out of sight.  _ Great. _

_ Great. _ Catra looked down at the bag of assorted camping gear Adora had given her, fighting the impulse to drop it and sprint off from this situation. She ran through her options as she tried and failed to come up with a possible excuse. Glimmer was still staring after Adora. Then she slowly turned to face Catra, looking as pleased about it as Catra felt.

“Uh… It’s fine if you want to call this off. I know it’s not really your thing…” said Glimmer.

Catra scowled at that, temper flaring at the challenge she heard. She was suddenly determined to go, potential for embarrassing herself momentarily forgotten. “Let’s go.”

“What?”

“Let’s go. I’m game if you are. I don’t see why we shouldn’t.” Catra stared into the bag of equipment.

Glimmer paused. Catra looked up at her through her fringe. Glimmer looked torn. Then, “Fine. Let’s do it.” She sounded more angry than anything else. 

“Right. Let’s go then.”  _ Fuck. What am I doing? _

_ Oh shit, what are we doing? _

Catra had gone to the back of the car and dropped the bag of kit on the ground. She tried the handle of the trunk, tugging on it again when it didn’t open.

“Stop that! It only works with the key.” Glimmer went around to open it. Catra stood back when she did. While Catra wordlessly threw her things in the trunk, somehow Glimmer kept getting in her way and Catra simultaneously avoided going near her.  _ Ugh, why does she have to be so awkward with me? _ Glimmer slammed the trunk shut, already getting sick of her. But she wouldn’t back out now, Catra would think she was scared or something. 

Catra didn’t wait before opening the passenger door. Glimmer remembered with a jolt of embarrassment that she’d left a pile of candy wrappers on the seat and rushed back to move it before Catra could comment on it. She had expected Bow to ride shotgun; he would have teased her but she was used to that. Catra teasing her or, worse, judging her, seemed unbearable.

She shoved her way past Catra and scooped up all the wrappers in her fist. Not knowing what to do with them, she froze for a second. Catra raised an eyebrow before Glimmer ran back to the trunk. “What do you have there?” Catra called to her, barely concealing her mocking tone.

“None of your business,” Glimmer huffed back, shoving the key in the lock as quickly as she could to pop it open. She shoved her balled fist full of wrappers into a side pocket of her bag. She zipped up the bag, slammed the trunk closed, and hopped into the driver’s seat of the car wordlessly.

“Uh huh…” Catra smirked from the passenger seat. This was going to be a long car ride.


	2. Chapter 2

Though the drive was relatively quiet, a tension lingered in the air between them. Since Glimmer was driving, she tried to distract herself with the radio. To her dismay, some generic pop song was playing. She quickly switched the radio back off and shifted in her seat a bit, unable to keep her thoughts in check. What if they got there and Catra walked off immediately? Was that even a bad thing? What would they even talk about when they got there? Why wasn’t she just turning the car around? Did she secretly want to do this? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Catra shoved her elbow at the base of the window, tucking a fist underneath her chin as she stared out, not really focusing on anything. The scenery gradually changed from the suburbs in which they met, to rolling hills, to a mountain range covered in green forest and a shimmering lake at its base. It might have been quite nice if not for the looming thought of having to share the experience with the woman in the driver's seat. She never understood what Glimmer’s problem with her was. Well, that wasn’t true. Catra knew she had acted like a jerk when they first met, but she had settled down a lot and tried to be nicer for a long time now. However, it didn’t seem to sway Glimmer’s initial opinion of her. Oh well, this was going to be a nightmare anyway; might as well settle into it. Hopefully, Glimmer wouldn’t be _ too _irritated with her.

The road beneath them suddenly turned to gravel crunching beneath the tires of the purple car. A big clearing just up ahead acted as a makeshift parking lot. No other cars were in sight. It was really just them out here.

Glimmer shifted the car into park, removed the keys, and took a deep breath. “I guess this is it.”

“I guess so.” Catra continued to stare out the window.

“Help me unload the trunk.” Glimmer wasn’t wasting any time. She slammed the car door behind her, not waiting for an answer.

Catra sighed and rolled her eyes at the command but complied. “Aye aye, captain.” She followed Glimmer to the back of the car.

Glimmer popped open the trunk to reveal two sparsely packed backpacks and Adora’s carrier bag of supplies. One backpack was light pink with two fluffy pom-poms on the zipper and the other was dark maroon with nothing special about it other than a strip of duct tape holding one of the straps together. Even their backpacks showed them just how different the lives they led were. Glimmer reached in and grabbed her backpack and Adora’s carrier bag.

As Catra pulled her bag out of the trunk, she offered some help. “It’s okay, I can take that.” She extended her hand toward Glimmer.

“I’m _ fine. _ I don’t _ need _ your help,” Glimmer growled at Catra. There was nothing she hated more than people trying to help her when she didn’t ask for it. It was like they thought she was incapable of doing the simplest tasks. She didn’t _ need _anyone. She was fine on her own.

Catra slung her backpack around her shoulder, smirking, and put up her hands up in surrender. “Whatever you say, princess.” Great, not even on the path yet, and she had already pissed her off. She wasn’t even sure how. _ Oh well, may as well roll with it and hope she settles down soon. _ If Catra had learned anything over the years, it was not to fight the blame or explain yourself. People will only twist your words and use them against you. She kept her mouth shut after that and started walking toward the path.

Glimmer caught up with her once she had fitted the contents of Adora’s bag into her backpack. There was a tiny, incomprehensible camping stove kit, some dry oats in a ziplock bag, and a ‘two-person’ tent that looked worryingly small. Glimmer’s stomach lurched as she wondered if this was really a good idea. Neither of them had any experience - Bow and Adora were the outdoorsy ones. She didn’t want Catra to see her hesitating though so she marched smartly to the base of the path where Catra was waiting for her. 

“Ready?” Catra smiled at her. It looked oddly genuine and actually kind of cute. Definitely nicer than the smug grin on her face a second ago. It caught her off guard, erasing the irritation that was building in her moments ago.

“Uh, yeah…” Glimmer replied. And with that, Catra turned on her heel and began the journey into the forest.

The two trudged through the beaten path for a while, content with the silence. It was peaceful. The sounds of nature were pleasant to listen to - the wind wisping through the trees, twigs snapping under the feet of small, unseen animals, and the occasional tweets from birds. 

_ I should at least try and be friendly with her. What do I even say though? _Glimmer spent the next few moments pondering how to start a conversation with Catra. She seemed so closed off all the time; it was hard to talk to her. She had to say something eventually though. They couldn’t just stay silent the entire trip.

“Why did you want to do this anyway?” Once Glimmer said it, she realized she could have phrased that better. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she cursed herself mentally. To her surprise, Catra didn’t seem to mind the question and answered her without looking back.

“Never got to as a kid. Seemed like as good a time as any to get this off my bucket list.” Catra strode along the path nonchalantly, arms folded behind her head.

A wave of empathy rushed over Glimmer. She knew all too well what it was like missing out on integral parts of a normal childhood. Her mother meant well but was really overprotective of her precious child. Anything that had potential danger involved, Glimmer missed out on. School sports? No. Camping? No. She wasn’t even allowed to go ice skating with her friends when she was younger.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Catra…” There was pain in her voice as she spoke.

_ She did not just pity me. _

If there was anything Catra hated more than entitled people who got whatever they wanted, it was entitled people who got whatever they wanted and felt sorry for those not as fortunate as them. It was as if her poverty was being shoved in her face. She gets that she doesn’t have as much money as Glimmer; why did she feel the need to remind her of that?

Catra spun around and stomped her foot on the beaten dirt beneath her. Heterochromatic eyes flared at Glimmer. “Sorry, princess. We can’t all have luxury villas to visit during the holidays like you,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

_ She did not just say that. _

Before Glimmer could think about how she wanted to respond to such a claim, words were flying out of her mouth. “Of course you’d assume that… Everyone assumes that! I am so tired of everyone shoving my mother’s money in my face. I get it. I’m a spoiled brat, right? Is that what you wanted to hear?” She knew her family was well off financially, but this was too much. She always having to deal with everyone’s assumptions; even out here, in the middle of nowhere, she couldn’t get away from it. She wished Catra could just see her as herself. Not as Adora’s newer friend, not as a bland heiress.

Catra realized she had struck a nerve and fell silent.

_ “ _ Say something,” Glimmer demanded. She was taking deep breaths, apparently trying to calm herself down.

“What do you want me to say?” Catra averted her eyes, looking anywhere but at Glimmer. She had no idea how to deal with the situation, so she shut down emotionally.

_ “Anything.” _

Catra’s thoughts were racing a mile a minute but she couldn’t grab hold of any of them. She was quickly becoming overwhelmed with the idea of attempting to express herself. “I - uh - I don’t need your pity…” She was barely able to squeak that sentence out as her thoughts continued to cycle and spiral. Her voice was devoid of any emotion.

“Is that what you thought I was doing?” Glimmer furrowed her brows, clearly reflecting on how pompous she must have sounded to her. 

Catra slowly nodded her head. Glimmer took a deep breath and groaned at the situation. “I’m sorry it sounded like I was pitying you. I wasn’t. I was trying to empathize with you not having gone camping ever. My mother never allowed me to because she thought it was too dangerous. She didn’t really allow me to do much, honestly.” Glimmer sighed and felt relieved to have shared a life-long frustration of hers. Who knew it would be with Catra?

“I-I’m sorry too…” Catra’s voice cracked as she tried to speak. “I shouldn’t have said that. I hate being treated as lesser. And I didn’t know about your mom.” Catra worked up a smile and stuck out her hand for Glimmer to grab in apology. Glimmer smiled back, taking Catra’s hand in hers. Catra’s grin broadened as she threw in a cheeky comment. “I guess we’ll be each other’s firsts then.”

After a moment of processing the joke, Glimmer belted out a hearty laugh. “I guess so.” She continued to laugh. Not expecting that response, Catra’s smile was replaced with a blush. Before Glimmer could see, Catra quickly turned around and continued to walk along the path.

“Well then, we better get there before sundown. We still have to set up camp,” said Catra. A small smile returned to her face as she thought about how cute Glimmer looked when she laughed. _ Maybe this won’t be so bad after all. _

“Let’s go!” Glimmer beamed, following close behind. _ This is actually kind of nice. _

As they walked along the forested path, they chatted about hobbies and interests for a long while. The clear air and late afternoon light filtering through the golden trees created an otherworldly atmosphere where it was easy to forget that they had never spoken so much in the entire time they known each other.

“So are you a fan of the 1985 version, or the 2018 remake?”

“Easy - oh crap…” said Glimmer as they stared blankly at the fork in the trail. Adora had described the route to them when they had planned this trip but that had been weeks ago and Glimmer hadn’t really been listening.

“So, uh, which way do you want to go?” Catra scratched the back of her head. Apparently she hadn’t been listening to Adora’s directions either.

“Oh, _ I _ have to choose?” Glimmer snapped her head toward Catra, eyebrows raised. Catra was being way too passive. She either froze up and shut down or meekly passed off the decision-making to anyone else. “No,” Glimmer smiled slyly at Catra. “I want you to pick.”

_ Shit. Why does she want me to pick? _

Catra always feared making the wrong decision. She never wanted anything to actually be her fault. She avoided responsibility like the plague. What if she made the wrong choice? She didn’t want Glimmer to resent her more than she already probably did. “Seriously?” Catra asked, riddled with anxiety.

“Yup.” Glimmer wouldn’t let up.

_ Looks like I’m not getting out of this one. _Catra flipped a coin in her head, shrugged, and started walking on the left path. “Hopefully we can find the campsite quickly,” Catra mumbled to the air.

The path was steep and winding the farther along they went. The air became thinner and cooler as they ascended and they were both soon short of breath. “Well, you wanted me to choose and look where that got us.” Catra was exasperated as they trudged upward.

“C’mon, it’s -” Glimmer gulped a mouthful of air, “it’s not that bad.” She tried to smile, but she was panting harder with each step. 

Catra knew better. It’s not like Glimmer wanted to be doing this. She made the wrong call and now Glimmer had to deal with the consequences along with her. This sucked. This sucked and it was all her fault. And now Glimmer was trying to pretend like this wasn’t a problem. Like _ she _ wasn’t a problem.

“You know you can stop doing that,” Catra sulked, continuing on.

“Doing. What?” Each word was a breath out of Glimmer’s mouth. 

“Acting like I didn’t screw us over,” Catra grumbled. “I fucked up and you’re paying for it. I’m the worst," Catra said matter-of-factly. "Why aren’t you acting like it?”

“You know you can stop doing _ that _.” Glimmer shot the line back. Catra didn’t reply. “I thought you hated being pitied.” Glimmer was starting to sound dizzy. Catra shot her a thumbs up, not turning around or stopping. _ You got that right, princess, _Catra thought. “Why do you pity yourself then?” asked Glimmer.

Catra sighed and answered bluntly. “It’s not pity if it’s true.”

“Yeah well -” began Glimmer before giving a sharp gasp as rubble tumbled from under her and she started to slip backward down the slope. 

Catra whipped around at the sound from behind her. Her mind went blank, only reacting in that moment. She hooked her arm around the nearest tree trunk and grabbed Glimmer’s wrist in the blink of an eye. Catra pulled Glimmer as close to herself as she could until she could find solid footing.

Glimmer was almost mesmerized by the intensity of Catra. “Well, uh... You can’t be all that bad.” Glimmer felt a blush creep over her face. This was the same person from a second ago, right? This was the same person that acted snarky and arrogant years ago, right? Glimmer couldn’t look away from her savior.

As they calmed down from the adrenaline of the moment Glimmer noticed that Catra was blushing now too. “... Thanks.” Catra’s response was breathy. The two stared into each other’s eyes before Glimmer separated from her.

“I should be the one thanking you,” Glimmer laughed nervously. “Right,” she said, struggling to think clearly, “let’s keep going then. We have to find the campgrounds before night rolls around.” She quickly shuffled up the steep incline ahead of Catra, hoping her thought wasn’t showing on her face.

_ She looked really cool for a second there. _

Glimmer scrambled her way to the top of the slope, finding the end of the trail. She made her way into the big clearing in front of her and called back to Catra. “Found the end!” Glimmer shouted toward the thick of forest that Catra was still in. As Glimmer walked farther out, she realized that this wasn’t the campgrounds. Instead, Glimmer found herself stood at the top of a small cliff.

_ Woah. _

She could see everything from up here. Glimmer fell silent and gazed out at the gorgeous scenery before her. The tops of the trees below looked so small that she could run her hands through it like carpet. The lake below shimmered in the sunset. White sparkles danced over the warm hues of yellow, orange, and red reflected in the water as the sun continued its descent behind the horizon. Distant mountain ranges still appeared large, but not impossible to climb anymore. She had trekked up so much higher than she realized and suddenly she felt capable of anything. 

Catra thwacked away the last of the branches in her face before stumbling out into the clearing with Glimmer. Confused that Glimmer wasn’t saying anything, Catra approached her, putting a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. Glimmer stayed silent and kept looking out over the landscape. Once Catra was next to her, her hand slid off of Glimmer’s shoulder and she stood there in awe.

_ Woah. _

Now she understood why Glimmer wasn’t saying anything. This was beautiful. They were above it all quite literally. It was peaceful up here and she got to experience this with her. The two stood there in silence, basking in the scenery. Their pinkies brushed past each other. The small touch was electric and Catra felt butterflies. She peered over at Glimmer, who was smiling at the sight before them. The sunset gently caressed her face and Catra fell even harder for Glimmer. _ Shit, I’m hopeless. _ Catra couldn’t stop staring at her.

Without looking away from it all, Glimmer took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

Entranced by how beautiful Glimmer was, Catra didn’t think much about her response and actually accepted her thanks without any fuss. “You’re welcome.” Catra smiled and turned back to the view satisfied that she had some part in making Glimmer look so happy.


	3. Chapter 3

A sudden darkness fell over the sky, and they looked up to find the source. Heavy clouds rolled in, veiling the sky, and it seemed that they were here to stay. 

“Crap…” Catra muttered to herself. There was no end in sight to the dark grey clouds looming overhead and a few raindrops pattered around their feet. A flash of light pierced the sky and a deep rumble shook them a few seconds later.

“We have to get back to the car,” said Glimmer, her tone low and serious. Glimmer moved hastily back toward the trail, desperate to beat the storm.

“Agreed,” said Catra, following close behind her.

They descended the path as quickly as they could. The ground beneath them eventually became too steep to run down and Glimmer came to a screeching halt where it ended in a ledge. “I don’t think we’re on the path anymore,” said Glimmer, an edge of fear in her voice. 

Glimmer turned to Catra as if to ask if she had a plan. Despite her reluctance to make any decisions, Catra felt a swell of determination to protect Glimmer. She assessed their situation. Another roll of thunder reminded her that she didn’t have long to come up with a plan. Continuing downwards was likely still their best option and Catra decided that they would have to climb over the edge. The drop was further than she would have liked and Glimmer wasn’t as agile as her; she would have to improvise.

Catra threw her backpack off the ledge into the clearing below. She grabbed onto a nearby tree branch hanging low and over the drop, swinging down and planting the edges of her shoes into the dirt grooves along the wall. Catra outstretched her free arm toward Glimmer, waiting for her to catch on to her poorly thought out plan. Fat raindrops splashed on Catra’s face and as each second passed her limbs began to exhaust themselves. 

“Does this work?” Catra shouted up to Glimmer, not actually asking for her input. The only response Catra got was Glimmer’s backpack flying over her head and thudding into the ground beneath them.

Glimmer approached the edge with none of the haste she had earlier. She crouched down and reached out to take Catra’s hand in hers. _ Soft... _The thought couldn’t help but cross her mind. Glimmer gripped it as tightly as she could, fearful of what would happen if she didn’t.

“I’m going to pull you into me. Grab on and climb down,” Catra instructed her.

“Climb down what?” It was a dumb question but she was baffled by the thought of grabbing Catra... all over. _ Is she for real? _

“The ladder - me, dumbass. Hurry up, I’m getting tired.” 

_ Okay, I deserved that. Ask dumb questions, get dumb answers. _ Glimmer complied with Catra’s plan and swung her legs over the drop, nodding at her. Glimmer scooched herself over the edge and Catra pulled her toward her body as hard as she could. Her mind went blank, grabbing onto anything she could on Catra. She ended up with one arm hooked around Catra’s chest, her hand over her shoulder. Her other arm was wrapped tightly around Catra’s waist. The impact tugged down on Catra heavily and Catra cried out in pain. Glimmer tried desperately to suppress her trembling. It was clear that Catra couldn’t keep this up for much longer. She needed to move quickly. 

Glimmer somehow clamped down even harder on Catra’s waist and removed her arm from around Catra’s chest. Well, she tried to let go but couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. She ended up dragging the palm of her hand over Catra’s curves when she moved, too afraid to fully release her only means of not plummeting. Eventually, Glimmer found her way to Catra’s hip. Repeating the process, she dragged her other arm from around Catra’s waist and hooked it back around her thigh. Hip to shin, thigh to ankle. Her hand shimmied parallel to her other one on Catra’s other ankle.

“Looking good down there, Glim? I need you off, like now.” Catra’s voice strained as much as her limbs. Glimmer glanced over her shoulder and found, to her dismay, that the drop was still around two meters.

_ It’ll have to do. _She gulped down some air. Pushing off the side of the drop, Glimmer let go of Catra and landed in the clearing beneath them. She fell onto her butt and shouted to Catra who was still dangling from the tree branch. “What are you going to do?”

“Don’t worry, I always land on my feet,” Catra reassured Glimmer. She started to swing on the branch, ready to dismount. She had become used to three meter drops ever since she started working for a bouldering place. However, this fall would be a little over three meters and Catra could tell this was going to hurt a bit. _ Just land it and roll forward. _Catra prepped herself. As she swung to dismount, the branch snapped. Catra plunged toward the Earth.

“Catra!” came the cry beneath her. In a split second decision, Glimmer had scrambled to her feet and dove under her. Catra crashed into Glimmer not a second later. Glimmer had wrapped her arms around her tightly once more, taking most of the impact.

Glimmer’s body stung - a lot. Surprisingly, she was okay though. _ What the hell possessed me to do that? _ Well, she knew she wasn’t about to let Catra get hurt, but she didn’t realize she was capable of that. She didn’t know much about what she could or couldn’t do since she was never allowed to try much of anything. _ Wow, I did it. _She rolled onto her side, taking Catra with her, and let go of her.

Once Catra could process what just happened, she sprung up and turned to Glimmer. “Are you okay?! Why the hell did you do that?! Are you out of your mind?! I could have killed you!” The questions came at her, rapidfire. 

Instead of answering any of them, Glimmer rolled back onto her back, smiled at the dark, clouded sky, and chirped “I did it!” She began to laugh as the rain picked up and became more constant.

Glimmer seemed okay enough - well, she was okay enough to be laughing about what just happened - so Catra joined in. Giving kudos where she could, Catra chuckled. “Yeah, you did it alright!” They lay there, in the small clearing below the ledge they descended, laughing at the world and themselves. Thunder rumbled nearby, threatening them once more. “What are we going to do? Considering _ that _,” Catra gestured toward the dirt wall, “wasn’t there before, I’m pretty sure we’re lost.” Their smiles never left their faces despite the scenario.

“Let’s just set up camp here. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Glimmer suggested without too much thought.

Catra looked around her surroundings. Relatively flat, compacted ground, not much debris around, it’ll have to do. It didn’t seem like they would be able to get back to Glimmer’s car before the downpour started. “Yeah, okay, let me grab Adora’s kit. I’m pretty sure there’s a tent in there.”

Riding her adrenaline high, Glimmer was already back on her feet. “I got it!” She started to run toward the bags on the ground, but after one step she fell to her knee. A shriek pierced the air and Catra rushed to her side.

“What’s wrong?! What happened?!” Catra rushed over to kneel by Glimmer where she fell. She slung Glimmer’s arm around her shoulders and wrapped her own around Glimmer’s waist in an attempt to provide support.

“My ankle… I think I twisted it.”

Catra went wide eyed, starting intensely into the dirt in front of her. _ This is all my fault. _

“This is all my fault,” she muttered, the echo of her thought.

Glimmer broke free from Catra’s hold. She staggered forward, grimaced in pain, and fell onto her butt once more. “I told you to stop doing that!” she roared at Catra. Tears formed in Catra’s eyes as she looked at Glimmer, still in shock.

“You got hurt… saving me… following me… down the wrong trail… It’s because of me…” Catra kept trailing off, failing to find the words or emotions to express herself. She felt hollow.

Glimmer rocked herself forward toward Catra, careful not to shift any weight onto her twisted ankle. A loud smack echoed around them as Glimmer clapped her hands sharply in front of Catra's face, jolting her from her spiral. Before Catra had time to react, Glimmer leaned forward and hugged her tightly, burying Catra's head in her chest. “I chose to do all of that,” she whispered into her ear. “Stop putting all the blame on yourself.” Catra shivered at her touch. “If I had the choice to go back in time and do it again, nothing would change. I don’t regret my choice.” Glimmer felt her return the hug and begin to lightly sob.

“Why?” Catra’s voice cracked. “You _ hate _ me.” 

If Glimmer was being honest, she wasn’t quite sure why she chose to do that or why she still would, but there was one thing she did know.

“I don’t hate you, Catra.” She spoke sweetly and softly. “You know how to piss me off royally, but I don’t hate you.” Glimmer couldn’t help but laugh at the statement. _ I wonder why she cares so much if I hate her or not_ . 

Catra shifted her head up to look at Glimmer. Her eyes felt puffy from crying but she bore a tiny smile when gazing into Glimmer’s eyes. With that, the rain finally came down on them. “Shit, we have to move _ now .”_ Catra assumed the position she had taken before, with Glimmer’s arm around her shoulders and her own around Glimmer’s waist.

Catra spotted a small dirt overhang toward the edge of the clearing and got another ridiculous idea in her head. This time she was going to stick to her guns, this time she was going to get it right. She wanted to; she _ had _to for Glimmer’s sake. Holding on tightly to Glimmer, she made a beeline underneath the overhang and sat Glimmer down where the rain wouldn’t reach her. She turned and sprinted for the bags, scooping them all up as quickly as she could.

As Catra ran through the rain and flung the bags next to Glimmer, she got soaked by the rain. Glimmer couldn’t help but stare at all of Catra’s subtle curves and lean muscle flexing as she wasted no time in taking action.

_ Holy crap, she’s really cute. _A chill ran down Glimmer’s spine. She couldn’t tell if it was because of Catra or the cold rain that had drenched her before she made it under the overhang. The thought cycled through her mind, not letting her forget it as Catra worked desperately to create a shelter for them. Glimmer sat there watching Catra feed metal rods through slots on Adora’s small tent that she dug out of Glimmer’s backpack, her muscles rippling as she bent them straight.

Catra unfurled the guy ropes on the side of the tent by the overhang and tied them around the corners on either side of the malformed tent. She attached them to metal tent pegs and with a loud grunt she drove them as deep as she could into the dirt above the overhang. Rain hammered down on her shoulders as she pulled the tent taut and stamped metal tent pegs into loops on the outer edge, securing it to the ground. She had turned the small tent into a tarp, creating a makeshift shelter for them. Catra rushed inside it, out of breath, soaking wet, and dripping. Finally, the reality set in and Glimmer acknowledged that pesky thought that wouldn’t shut up in her head. _ Oh my god, I like Catra. _

“How are we doing in here?” Catra panted with a smile.

“I’m, uh... doing better now.” Glimmer stared at Catra, still shocked at her revelation. Catra noticed her staring; of course she did, it was hard not to given their proximity. But what was that? Was Catra blushing at her? Glimmer thought back to Catra blushing at her earlier and about how much Catra seemed to hate the thought of her hating her. Then it clicked. _ Oh my god, Catra likes me ._

Why was Glimmer staring at her? What was that all about? Catra couldn’t help but blush a little bit under the attention of her crush. A cold shiver quickly brought her back to the reality of her current situation. Catra was freezing cold. “I’m… going to dry off now.” Catra turned away from Glimmer and stripped her shirt off, wringing it out in the corner before putting it back on. She regretted packing so light now. She could feel Glimmer’s eyes piercing her back with each movement she made. This was too weird. She repeated the process for her pants and turned back to face Glimmer.

“You’re still wet. You’ll catch a cold.” Glimmer spoke matter-of-factly, regaining some amount of ability to interact.

Catra sighed, knowing that Glimmer was right. She couldn’t just stay in damp clothes the rest of the night. “Yeah, you’re right. What do you suppose I do though?” Catra asked as she wrung out her hair.

“Start a fire?” Glimmer suggested, half serious, half joking. They didn’t have much to work with in their little shelter. There were some large sticks and twigs scattered around but that was about it since all of the fallen autumn leaves and the branch that snapped were caught out in the rain.

Catra lit up at the idea. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” She tossed the twigs in a small pile under the overhang, out of the rain but as far from the strung up tent as possible, and arranged the sticks on top of it. “That should be good enough.” She searched around inside the front pocket of her bag and eventually pulled a tiny, black plastic lighter out of it with a triumphant look on her face.

“Why do you have a lighter?” asked Glimmer.

“Why don’t you have a lighter?” Catra stuck her tongue out at Glimmer.

“Because I’m not a delinquent.” Glimmer giggled at her.

“Then that should answer your question as to why _ I _have one then.” Catra laughed back at her. They were eating up this back and forth banter, but the mood was cut short when Catra couldn’t get the twigs to catch fire. “No, no, no… really?” Catra groaned at being faced with yet another problem. At least Glimmer was relatively dry so this time it only affected her.

Glimmer cupped her chin in her hand and pondered a solution since Catra flopped over on the dirt and gave up. After a few minutes of brainstorming, Glimmer shouted, “I’ve got it!” making Catra jump. Glimmer leaned over to her bag and unzipped the side pocket to grab the balled up pile of candy wrappers that she had tried to hide from Catra earlier. She sprinkled the wrappers on top of the sticks and twigs and beamed a smile at Catra. “Try now!”

Catra sat up. She smiled but didn’t say anything as she scooped up the wrappers and tucked them into a space at the center of the pile, under the larger materials. “Oh, that makes sense,” said Glimmer, a little embarrassed but glad that Catra hadn’t teased her this time. “Campfires were another thing I wasn’t allowed anywhere near as a kid!” 

Catra nodded, visibly shivering now, and flicked her lighter on one more time, making sure to burn the paper wrappers first and hoping for the best. Glimmer and Catra huddled over the tiny fire, blowing on it gently to encourage the flame while the rain clattered on their shelter. Eventually, the fire spread to the twigs then the sticks. They grinned happily at each other when the flames properly took hold. They had actually made a campfire. Their method may have been a bit unorthodox, but they had done it nonetheless… together!

“So _ that’s _ what you were hiding from me.” Catra smirked at her.

“If you had known I had candy, you would have tried to steal them all!” Glimmer teased.

“Who says I won’t when we get back to your car?” Catra winked at Glimmer, and a blush returned to Glimmer’s face.

“Speaking of food, let’s eat.” Glimmer dumped the snacks out of her bag and Catra did the same. Neither of them actually brought any food that would pass as a meal but they had fun trading chips and granola bars with each other. They passed an apple back and forth between themselves like it was a game of Old Maid. Soon enough, they were both dry and sharing stories around the small fire, laughing the evening away. When the fire started to slow, Catra crawled under the overhang to find some more sticks to feed it. The rain eventually stopped, but they didn’t seem to care; they were content huddled around the fire, barely noticing the clouds rolling on and the sky turning a deep velvet blue.

Talking to Catra was easier than Glimmer expected. Rather than the sarcasm and scathing judgement Glimmer had anticipated, Catra turned out to take everything Glimmer told her in her stride. She seemed to have forgotten to be tense and on edge out here. In the mountains where their usual rules of engagement had been well and truly abandoned, Glimmer found herself confessing things she’d never spoken out loud to another soul before.

“If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.” Glimmer playfully punched Catra’s arm after spilling an especially embarrassing secret.

“How can you be so sure you can trust me?” Catra waggled her eyebrows at Glimmer, trying to be silly and mischievous.

“I believe in you,” said Glimmer. Catra looked genuinely touched that Glimmer trusted her and the resulting rush of affection made Glimmer feel like anything could happen. Acting on an impulse to shake things up, she said, “Plus, if you can’t keep your mouth shut, I’ll shut it for you.” She attempted to disguise her flirt as a threat, just in case she had read Catra wrong, but Catra’s face blushed dark in an instant. Embarrassed at Catra’s recognition of her not-so-coded flirt, Glimmer blushed as well and they were left staring at each other.

_ Was that a joke, or is she actually flirting with me?! _ Catra’s heart soared at the thought. There’s no way Glimmer would actually be flirting with her, right? She just learned that Glimmer didn’t totally hate her, but that doesn’t mean that she _ likes _ her. This was _ way _too much for her to process. No wait, was Glimmer blushing back at her? Oh my God, she was!

The fire was already dim and burning out fast. Catra watched as Glimmer placed her hand on the ground and shifted her weight, leaning in toward her. Catra swore she could hear her heart beating out of her chest. Was this really happening? No way Glimmer was leaning in to kiss her, right? Right?! The fire finally died and they were left in the darkness that followed.

“Oh, the fire went out,” said Glimmer, sounding disappointed somehow. Catra heard her rustling around, moving back to where she was.

_ You have to be kidding me. _ Catra let go of the breath she was holding. _ Probably just my imagination. Maybe her ankle hurt so she needed to alleviate some pressure. That sounds about right. _ She decided not to let herself entertain the idea that Glimmer could ever like her back, at least not like _ that _.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for some gratuitously explicit smut!

“I guess we should try to get some sleep. We can try to find our way back as soon as it’s light,” said Glimmer, standing up, stretching, and testing her ankle by applying small amounts of weight to it. A nearly full moon had risen while they had been sitting by their campfire and as Catra’s eyes adjusted she watched the silver light play across Glimmer’s curves.

“Oh, uh, yeah…”  _ Smooth, Catra. _ Having to spend the night in close proximity with Glimmer had seemed like the part of being stuck on this trip with her with the most potential for awkwardness but now that it had come around it didn’t seem like it would be as weird as she had feared. But there was still the matter of Catra’s heart rate increasing every time Glimmer leaned too close or held her gaze too long. Being so close to Glimmer for the whole night was going to be a different kind of torture. Catra sighed. At least Glimmer didn’t know how she felt.

Now that her eyes had adjusted from the light of the fire, Catra realized how bright the moonlight was, throwing everything into sharp relief and glowing through where it hit the side of their shelter. Glimmer had rolled out a very new-looking sleeping bag inside the shelter and was wriggling her now-bare legs into a pair of skimpy pink pajama shorts. Catra quickly looked away, scrunching her nose in irritation.  _ Shit.  _ She had hoped that Glimmer would have brought her oldest, most unappealing pajamas on a camping trip. Not that it would have helped minimize the effect of being next to her for hours but knowing her bare thighs were  _ right there _ was going to be uncomfortable. 

Catra decided the best option was to try to get to sleep as quickly as possible. She stripped down to her t-shirt and underwear and crawled over to pull out the sleeping bag from her backpack. From behind her, she heard Glimmer say, “Huh…”

“What?!”

“Nothing!”

Catra scowled as she shook out the sleeping bag next to Glimmer’s, leaving as big a gap as possible. Which, unfortunately, wasn’t much with how small their shelter was. “I didn’t bring pajamas, okay? I normally sleep naked.”

Glimmer made an odd little spluttering sound. She looked down and quickly wrapped her arms around her chest, though Catra didn’t miss the sight of her nipples showing through the thin fabric of the pajama top she now wore. Or her discarded bra on top of her bag. Glimmer shivered in the cool air. “I suppose we’re both a bit underprepared!” She laughed nervously. “What were we thinking?”

“Hm.”

Pulling a neat, little toiletries bag from her backpack, Glimmer proceeded to go through a whole cleansing routine. When she started brushing her teeth, she caught Catra looking at her with a raised eyebrow. “What? Skincare is important!” she said through her brushing before giving Catra a silly grin.

Glimmer said nothing when Catra ‘borrowed’ some of her toothpaste. She stood up to go outside of their little shelter and Catra joined her, helping Glimmer walk to where she needed to be. To her surprise, Glimmer didn’t fight the help this time. The cool autumn night had Catra shivering in her underwear so Glimmer leaned into her just a little more. As they brushed their teeth without speaking, the silence felt companionable and comfortable.

Afterwards, Glimmer stayed by Catra and looked out at the dark, winding trees silhouetted by a gorgeous night sky. The moon shone brightly over them and stars freckled the sky, sparkling through the cracks of the tree branches. However, the dark of the forest loomed just in front of them, and it was hard to see anything past the trees surrounding their little, makeshift campsite. “Kind of creepy,” Glimmer observed.

“Not as scary as in the city. People are what you should be afraid of. There’s no one for miles out here.”

“No witnesses though. I could do whatever I like to you out here and no one would hear.”

Catra looked at Glimmer with surprise, her deadpan tone giving no indication of her meaning, and her eyes glinted in the dark as she looked mischievously back.  _ What does she mean by that?! _

Glimmer clapped her hands together. “Well, better get to sleep. It’s getting chilly out here.” Without another word, Glimmer turned and limped back to the shelter while Catra stared after her, too stunned to go after her to help.

_ What?! _

Glimmer was bundled up in her sleeping bag by the time Catra returned. It really was cold now. She couldn’t believe she’d said that to Catra but the words had been out of her mouth before she could give them a second thought. 

She listened to Catra wrestle her way into her own sleeping bag, cursing under her breath. When she finally lay still, the quiet and the space between them suddenly felt very  _ obvious.  _

“Night, I guess,” said Catra, uncertainly.

“Night.”

As she tried to get to sleep, Glimmer became very conscious of Catra’s breathing. She didn’t sound like she was falling asleep at all.  _ Are we going to have to lie like this all night? _

Now that she wasn’t moving about, Glimmer was even colder. Her temperature dropped every minute until her teeth were chattering and she started to feel nervous. Maybe her mother was right; maybe she  _ couldn’t  _ handle stuff like this. As her body heat dropped, so did her mood. Her insecurities were threatening to overwhelm her before Catra broke the tense silence, making Glimmer jump.

“It’s  _ fucking _ cold,” grumbled Catra.

Glimmer could only think of one solution. And after her unsuccessful attempts to flirt with Catra, she  _ really _ didn’t want to suggest it. But she was shivering hard now and didn’t see any other option. “We could… uh, share our body heat?” The question hung in the air and Glimmer groaned internally, mortified. Finally Catra replied in a quiet voice.

“Sure.”

_ Oh my God, this is awful,  _ thought Catra _ . _ She had been trying hard to ignore the thought that Glimmer was lying right next to her, only wearing her flimsy pajamas, and was quite prepared to freeze to death rather than go any closer. But she couldn’t bring herself to say no to her when she asked for her help. Catra wasn’t feeling the cold as badly as Glimmer seemed to be but she was desperate to make her feel better.

After some awkward maneuvering, they arranged one sleeping bag below and one over them, somehow still barely touching. Catra bit the bullet, wanting to get this over with. “Okay then, let’s do this.” She opened her arms to Glimmer who tentatively lay down with her back to Catra’s abdomen. Catra wrapped her arms around Glimmer as she wriggled around to get comfortable. All of her felt so smooth and soft.  _ Fuck, this is nice.  _ Catra hated it. 

“Is this okay?” asked Glimmer, still shivering in Catra’s arms. Her butt was in Catra’s lap, their bare legs touching. Catra was careful with her hands, making sure not to touch Glimmer anywhere untoward. 

Catra swallowed, struggling to process the idea that this was really happening and wishing her body wasn’t responding to Glimmer’s the way it was. She cleared her throat. “Yep, this is fine,” she said, tightly.

_ Oh my God, this is awful,  _ thought Glimmer _ . _ Everything about this was so awkward and embarrassing, worse than she had ever imagined this trip could have gone. Even after their day had been surprisingly enjoyable, despite everything, her realization of her own feelings towards Catra gave this situation a whole new level of weirdness.

As Glimmer warmed up a little, she started to relax. Catra’s body pressed against her back and her arms around her felt oddly safe. She wondered how it was for Catra though, since Glimmer was fairly certain now that Catra had a crush on her. Glimmer shifted around a bit, still trying to find a comfortable position, and felt Catra shift uncomfortably in response. 

The reckless streak that made her try flirting with Catra to bring about a little chaos returned. Without questioning her motives too closely, Glimmer shifted more deliberately, arching her back slightly to press into Catra differently. Glimmer made a few half-sighs that could plausibly have been the sounds of someone drifting to sleep. Catra went very still as the atmosphere changed. Glimmer felt a palpable tension grow between them and waited to see what Catra would do.

_ Is she doing this on purpose? _ Glimmer practically writhing and moaning, however tiny her movements were, was not helping to dispel the heat at her center. Catra became aware of a new, intense alertness between them. Surely Glimmer felt that too? How could she not? Catra’s gut twisted as her attempts to suppress her feelings towards Glimmer fought with the possibility that something could happen between them. She quickly chastised herself, certain that she was just imagining things because she was getting so turned on by Glimmer. Her clit throbbed and Catra was suddenly very glad that she had the anatomy she did. 

In an attempt to see what Glimmer’s response would be, Catra moved her hand further down Glimmer’s belly under the guise of generally changing position. Glimmer drew a breath and pressed her abdomen against Catra’s hand.  _ She must feel this too. It’s getting weird otherwise. _ Catra felt electric as she briefly let herself believe the possibility.

Catra was jolted out of that thought by Glimmer twisting to half face her. “Catra?”

Glimmer had to know if Catra liked her. All this dancing around it was getting ridiculous. But when she turned in Catra’s arms to ask her, the question died as she found her face far too close to Catra’s. Glimmer’s heart raced as she met Catra’s eyes in the low light, looking as startled as Glimmer felt. The moment stretched out but it now felt charged rather than strange. That charge lingered for a few long moments until the gap between their mouths closed.

Immediately, the tension broke and they were pressing desperately into each other, everything moving fast after the tenuous balance only seconds before. Catra half-climbed and was half-pulled on top of Glimmer, never breaking their connection. From there, Catra moaned against Glimmer’s mouth as both of them opened up to the other. After their day of slowly melting hostility and Glimmer’s realization of Catra’s feelings, it was a relief to finally have Catra on top of her, soft tongue in her mouth and hands on her waist under her top. Catra gave a low groan as she rolled against Glimmer where she straddled her hips and blood rushed to Glimmer’s clit so fast it hurt.

Glimmer moved her hands from where they gripped Catra’s back to pull her hips down again. Catra broke away for a second and looked down at Glimmer, seemingly amazed by the encouragement. Glimmer gave her a hopeful smile and moaned too when Catra’s mouth was on hers again.

It occurred to Glimmer that the night was young and there was so much more she could be doing to Catra. After gazing surreptitiously at Catra all day, now here she was, making out with Glimmer and wearing only her underwear and a t-shirt. When Glimmer slipped her fingers under the elastic to grab Catra’s butt, Catra stopped holding back and pushed Glimmer’s top up to cup her breast beneath her hand, sighing happily when she did. This new stage reached, they rapidly tried new ways to explore each other, still seeking each other’s lips over and over, until Glimmer’s hand found its way between Catra’s legs.  _ Fuck, she’s so wet.  _

_ Oh fuck, oh fuck…  _ Catra gasped and pulled back from Glimmer’s mouth. “Ah! Glimmer…” she began.

“Is this okay?”

“Yes!  _ Oh…” _ Catra pushed back against Glimmer’s fingers, unable to help herself. The pressure at her clit was already so intense. 

Glimmer rubbed lightly around Catra’s clit before moving lower. “Fingers?” asked Glimmer.

“Yes, ah -  _ please _ ,” Catra managed between shaking breaths. As soon as Glimmer slipped her fingers in and rocked her palm a little over Catra’s clit, Catra realized she was far too close. “Glimmer, I’m… Nnh…” she trailed off, giving in to incoherent whines. 

Catra could see Glimmer just enough in the moonlight to see her look of surprised delight as she moved her hand more purposefully. Catra knew they should slow down, they’d barely been at it for a few minutes. But Glimmer’s fingers felt too good and,  _ fuck, _ she was so pretty lying underneath her, flushed and half-naked and somehow hotter than she had ever imagined, that before she could stop it Catra was grinding out her orgasm against Glimmer’s palm. She shuddered and tensed, half-formed sounds escaping her while she gave in and let the sensation take over, rolling herself blissfully against Glimmer’s hand. Then, almost as soon as it started, it was over again, and Catra came abruptly back to herself to find Glimmer looking amused.

Glimmer hadn’t been able to help herself either, the thought of Catra losing it had been too tempting. And it had been worth it - the satisfaction at pleasuring Catra was almost as good as seeing her at her most vulnerable when she let herself go. Glimmer had been surprised at how sudden it had been though.

“That was fast!” teased Glimmer.

Catra didn’t seem to have calmed down as a result and dropped quick kisses on Glimmer’s neck. She reached behind her to run a hand up Glimmer’s thigh. “You  _ have  _ been wearing these tiny shorts for a while now. And you didn’t exactly waste any time getting down there.”

Glimmer giggled. “That’s true. I think I missed some steps along the way." Glimmer tugged the hem of Catra’s top up and Catra moved to let her pull it off over her head. Before Catra had a chance, Glimmer pulled her own top the rest of the way off and Catra stared in amazement at the body of the woman she longed for.

"I can't believe this is happening," said Catra, her hands and mouth quickly finding new places to touch across Glimmer’s chest.

"Why not?" Glimmer asked. It was cute seeing Catra apparently determined to make the most of having Glimmer topless underneath her, as if she'd disappear any second. When Catra didn't answer, Glimmer grasped her wrists lightly to make her stop and look at her. "Why not?" 

"I really thought you hated me," Catra reluctantly admitted.

"Obviously that's not true!" Glimmer declared in an attempt to reassure her. Catra just gave her a look. "Okay, maybe you weren't my first choice to go camping with, but… Look, I've been trying to flirt with you all evening!" 

After a second of surprised realization, Catra's cocky demeanour returned. "Some flirt you are, if I didn't even notice."

"Ugh!" Glimmer shoved a laughing Catra off her. "Well,  _ something  _ I did must have worked for you."

"You're just lucky you're so pretty," said Catra with a grin.

"Hmph. Anyway, I do like you… like that."

“Really?” The note of worry in Catra’s voice made Glimmer’s heart melt.

Glimmer adopted a deadly serious expression and grabbed Catra’s hand to press it against her breast. She deadpanned, “Yes. I like you. Honest,” and they both descended into laughter, glad to have addressed the remaining uncertainty hanging over them. In the ensuing rush of kisses and hands finding each other’s bodies as they lay side by side under the weight of the sleeping bag, they quickly dropped back into lower gasps and moans. 

Soon Glimmer was aching with the need for Catra to feel exactly how much she turned her on and every second Catra’s fingers weren’t between her legs felt unbearable. Glimmer was embarrassed to hear herself whine as Catra’s fingers toyed at the waistband of her shorts. She expected a smug tease from Catra in response but all she heard was a soft gasp of anticipation. Between kisses, Glimmer asked, “Do you want to see how much I like you?”

_ “Yes,” _ came Catra’s breathy, urgent reply.

“Go on then.”

Catra could have died happy listening to the sound Glimmer made when her fingers reached her pussy. She was vaguely aware of her own groan of gratification as she felt how hot and wet Glimmer was, still filled with disbelief that it was for her. But she wanted to make Glimmer make more sounds like that and set about working to make that happen.

Hearing Glimmer’s sweet moans in response almost made Catra lose her focus. Here was Glimmer, who she had tried so hard to stop being attracted to, beautiful and delighted and  _ squirming  _ at Catra’s touch; it felt too good to be true. Catra pressed kisses onto her collarbone in an attempt to concentrate, wanting nothing more than to give Glimmer more pleasure. Her heart lightened a little with each of Glimmer’s cries, flooding her with relief.

If anything, Glimmer only ached more now that Catra was fuelling the heat at her center. Catra drew her fingertips in gentle loops around Glimmer’s clit and she was reluctant to stop the trailing pleasure that followed them but she knew that she would have to eventually.

“Catra -  _ ahh _ ... Catra, can you, uh... use your mouth? That’s the only way I can…” Words failed Glimmer, suddenly shy.

“Oh God, yes.” Catra sounded overjoyed at the suggestion, and Glimmer breathed a sigh of relief. Catra climbed back on top of her and kissed her way down Glimmer, moaning happily the whole way. Glimmer held the sleeping bag at her chest while Catra disappeared under it, not feeling the cold as much anymore but unwilling to fully expose herself to the chilly air.

“Can you breathe under there?”

“Mm-hm. Fuck, you’re so hot,” murmered Catra, kissing Glimmer’s lower abdomen before pulling her shorts off.

Glimmer smiled to herself and basked in the adoration. She was enjoying seeing this side of Catra and couldn’t deny that she felt rather pleased at being the subject of her affection, especially when it was so hard to win. But when Catra’s mouth covered her cunt, she forgot all about that.

“Ah!  _ Oh _ …” Under the heat of Catra’s mouth, the intensity at Glimmer’s center jumped up several stages. As Catra began to lap slow and gentle around Glimmer’s clit, she relaxed into the pleasure, letting it wash over her, feeling as blissed out as if she was lying on a sunny beach.

Meanwhile, Catra was experiencing a mix of dizziness and trepidation. On one hand, she couldn’t wrap her head around how good Glimmer tasted, all salt and sweet and zest, and how lucky she felt to make her moan like that. On the other hand, Catra was anxious about getting this right. This was  _ Glimmer, _ who she’d longed after for years. Now that this was happening, Catra had given up all attempts to convince herself otherwise. She wanted this to go well and though some logical part of her knew that an imperfect first time with someone didn’t have to spell disaster she already felt like everything about this was impossible and that it would just take one mistake to end it.

Nevertheless, Catra tried to put that to the back of her mind and concentrated on pleasuring Glimmer. Licking and sucking at her softness came easily to Catra; she wanted as much of Glimmer as she could get. Glimmer seemed to respond, angling herself up for Catra and occasionally rolling her hips. Catra’s confidence grew - besides, it wasn’t like she had any complaints in the past, she reminded herself - and she changed to a more deliberate lapping of the flat of her tongue just below Glimmer’s clit.

However, after a while, Glimmer was rather quiet and Catra’s gut twisted with worry. She stopped what she was doing and waited until Glimmer lifted the sleeping bag to see why.

“Uh… Are you not into this?” asked Catra, dreading the answer.

“What? I am! Oh. I just take a really long time,” Glimmer replied apologetically. “Oh my God, this is so embarrassing,” she groaned. “Are you bored?!”

“No! Hell no. I could do this all night.” 

Glimmer laughed at that and Catra relaxed. “This is good, I promise. Ugh,  _ so good.  _ You’re amazing,” said Glimmer, seeming a little bashful at the last part.

“Amazing, huh?” Catra felt more like herself again now that her fears were assuaged. She licked along Glimmer’s inner thigh.

“Alright, alright,” Glimmer huffed, “you can put that smug mouth back to better u-  _ oh!” _

Catra settled back into swirling her tongue against Glimmer, now relishing her soft and peaceful sighs. Catra really did feel like she could do this all night, except for the distracting response of her own body to Glimmer's arousal. When Catra tasted fresh slick from Glimmer, she couldn't help moaning against her.

Since she could apparently be here a while, Catra decided to take her time and enjoy Glimmer. She moved lower to press her tongue into the sharpness at the center of Glimmer’s cunt, drawing a gasp from Glimmer that made Catra burn for her all over again. She trailed her tongue along the soft satin of Glimmer’s folds and felt her twitch and pulse as she sucked gently on them. 

Returning to lap slow, delicate circles around Glimmer’s clit, Catra was thrilled to hear Glimmer’s breathing start to hitch over and over in response. Catra moaned openly now, too delighted at the feel and taste and quiet sounds of Glimmer to hold back. Despite the throbbing of her own clit making her want everything to be fast and hard and frantic, Catra held her pace slow and gentle until Glimmer’s thighs trembled around her and Glimmer reached down to grasp Catra’s wrist.

Catra’s sounds of enthusiastic enjoyment as she went down on her swept away any of Glimmer’s anxieties about taking too long. Even better, Catra’s obvious arousal, Catra being so turned on by  _ her, _ made Glimmer feel hot and powerful. She guessed Catra would have enjoyed pleasuring her regardless of whether Glimmer came or not, but Glimmer wanted to give her that. From the sounds Catra was making at Glimmer’s slight sighs and movements, it seemed like actually making Glimmer come would blow Catra’s mind. And besides, by now Catra’s achingly, relentlessly slow tongue had her right on the edge. She grabbed hold of Catra’s wrist, suddenly compelled to hold some part of her.

Then one gorgeous circuit of Catra’s tongue pushed Glimmer over the edge and she gasped hard as the light at her center blossomed under Catra’s mouth. It spread through her, brighter and brighter with each gentle swirl of Catra’s tongue, lighting up her body with pleasure. It was all she could do to hold herself still for Catra while her muscles pulled taut over and over.

The care Catra was taking over Glimmer drew out her orgasm, letting it glow through her in waves after the initial shock. Glimmer could only continue to gasp sharp and shallow, her body caught in a mix of tension and release, while Catra eased her through it with her ever-softer mouth until everything left Glimmer. All tension gone, Glimmer relaxed and took some shaky breaths as Catra pulled away.

After a few seconds, a similarly breathless,  _ “Fuck,” _ came from under the sleeping bag. Glimmer realized she was still gripping Catra’s wrist and used it to pull her back up. Catra looked flushed and dazed, her hair in disarray.

“Fuck,” Glimmer agreed, smiling weakly, still shaken. She tucked Catra’s hair behind her ears and Catra shivered at the touch. Glimmer stroked Catra’s neck, testing her reaction, and Catra gave a shuddering whine, pressing her body against Glimmer’s almost involuntarily. 

Glimmer decided that Catra deserved another chance at her own pleasure without rushing through it this time. “Can you take your underwear off?” Glimmer asked.

“Huh? Why?”

“Just do it, it’ll be worth it, I promise.”

Catra lay between Glimmer’s legs and she wriggled around awkwardly until she had them off. “There. What was that for then?” She looked nervous, like she still thought that Glimmer might disappear any second, so Glimmer kissed her and smiled.

“Hold on.” Glimmer shifted under her until they were in the right position, her legs wrapped around Catra’s hips and with Catra’s clit pressed against her own cunt. She rolled her hips against Catra.

_ “Oh…” _ said Catra, realizing what Glimmer meant.

“Does this work for you?”

“I don’t know… Oh, that feels so good…” Catra pushed back, slipping herself along Glimmer’s slick.

Glimmer grinned up at Catra and grabbed her hips, moving them in time with her own. Catra gasped quietly as she got into it. She held tight to Glimmer and rubbed faster and faster against her.

“Hey, shh, slow down,” said Glimmer, stroking Catra until she calmed down a little, looking down at Glimmer in confusion and desperation. “I’m not going anywhere.” Glimmer rocked herself against Catra with a slower rhythm, one hand on Catra to guide her and the other steadying herself against the ground. Catra moaned as she matched her pace. “Good?” asked Glimmer.

Catra could only nod, a look of wonder and disbelief across her features as they moved together. Despite their slower pace, it only took a few more rolls of their hips before Catra’s breath caught in her throat and her whole body tensed. Glimmer gasped too, working hard to keep herself in the right position and revelling in Catra’s happiness. Catra cried out when she reached her release and Glimmer watched all the beautiful ways her mouth moved as she continued to scream over and over. Her movements became erratic as she thrust herself hard against Glimmer, who kept her own movements carefully steady to make sure Catra experienced the full extent of her pleasure this time.

When Catra collapsed, chest heaving against Glimmer’s, they held each other tightly, finding a way to fit perfectly together as they came back to Earth.

Catra was still reeling when Glimmer gently moved so that they were lying alongside each other again, tangled together as they faced each other, cold long forgotten. Joy bubbled up in Catra’s chest and she burst out laughing. Glimmer joined her and they giggled together in the darkness.

“That’s one way to stay warm,” said Glimmer as she cuddled into Catra. “I told you…” Glimmer muttered sleepily into Catra’s chest before yawning, somehow the softest, prettiest yawn Catra had ever heard, “Told you I like you…” Speechless for once and with her heart racing anew, Catra wrapped her arms gingerly around Glimmer. She stayed completely and uncharacteristically still while Glimmer drifted to sleep, wide awake and marvelling at how happy she felt in this moment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morning-after fluff

Glimmer woke to dappled sunlight streaming over her. As she remembered where she was, the events of the previous night came back to her in a rush. She rolled over to look for Catra, feeling exhilarated, but found their makeshift shelter empty. She shivered in the cool morning air and pulled on the first clothes she could find, which turned out to be her own discarded pajama shorts plus Catra’s hoodie. The smell of her gave Glimmer butterflies, and she hoped that whatever had passed between them last night wouldn’t disappear in the light of day.

Glimmer crawled outside and there was Catra, cross-legged in the clearing, stirring something over Adora’s tiny camping stove. The smell of wet leaves and pine needles filled the air and birds chirped loudly above. Everything seemed misty and peaceful. The fresh air woke her up the rest of the way, and her heart skipped at the sight of Catra.

“Morning!” said Glimmer cheerily. “Oh! You’re making breakfast?”

“Yeah?” said Catra, not looking up. She sounded guarded enough to make Glimmer uneasy.

“That’s really nice of you, you didn’t have to -”

“Surprised I’m still here?” Catra interrupted, stirring the pot of oatmeal rather aggressively.

“What? Of course not!”  _ What is she talking about? _ Glimmer wondered, feeling sick in the pit of her stomach at the thought that this wasn’t going to work out well after all. It had all seemed too good to be true, Catra liking her and wanting her. Maybe she would go straight back to her frosty attitude towards Glimmer now. Glimmer was surprised at how upset that made her, considering that had been their relationship for so long.

“But if we’d been back in the city then you’d expect me to be long gone by now, right?” Catra tried to spit her words but Glimmer heard her voice catch.

“No! Why would -”

“That’s what everyone always thinks. That all I want are one night stands.” Catra hugged her knees to her chest, abandoning her stirring. “That’s all anyone ever wants from me.”

Glimmer knelt on the ground by Catra, who looked terrified despite trying to look indifferent. “What makes you think that’s what I want?” asked Glimmer.

“You didn’t seem interested before last night.”

“Is that what you want? For this to just be a one time thing?” Glimmer waited for an answer but Catra just stared hard at the ground again, and Glimmer knew she’d have to be the first to give. “I’ll admit I hadn’t really figured it out before yesterday, but I think I’ve liked you for a while. It explains why I always found it so irritating when you ignored me!” Catra allowed herself a small smile at that. Glimmer continued gently, “In any case,  _ I _ don’t want this to be a one time thing.”

Catra muttered something in response.

“Sorry?”

“Me neither.” Once Catra started, the rest followed in a rush of words. “I’ve liked you for ages. For  _ years. _ But we got off to such a bad start, and I didn’t know how to fix it. I didn’t think anything would ever happen. I’m so used to trying not to want this that I can’t really believe it.” She was still staring at the ground.

Glimmer moved to hug Catra from behind, happy at how natural it felt. Catra tensed at first but then relaxed. “Believe it,” said Glimmer. 

Catra gave a relieved laugh and turned to grin at Glimmer, looking a bit embarrassed but happy. “I think I can do that,” she said. Glimmer grinned back and kissed her cheek. 

“I’m glad to hear it. Now turn that stove off before you burn everything to the pot - I don’t want to have to deal with Adora if we ruin her camping gear!” said Glimmer. She saw Catra’s expression change and quickly realized why. “Oh shit! What will Adora say?! Did you tell her you liked me?”

“No… But she might have figured it out herself, she’s always  _ very _ keen for us to spend time together.”

“Maybe you’ll finally talk to me at parties now!”

“If you’re lucky,” Catra smirked. Glimmer wanted to give a smartass answer but she could only smile back as her heart leapt.

After they ate some rather burnt oatmeal, Catra and Glimmer bickered over who was going to tell Adora they had ruined her camping pot, bickered over how to pack up the tent, and bickered over the best way to get back to the car. Neither of them could stop smiling the whole time.

By the time they set off in a vaguely downhill direction, hoping to meet the road they drove in on, Catra felt as bright and sunny as the new day. They found a faint path to follow and the gravel road eventually came into view. At one point, Glimmer slipped on a steep slope that was muddy from the previous day’s rain, her ankle still a little unreliable, and Catra grabbed her hand to stop her falling. There was no question of letting go afterwards and they were happily walking hand in hand when both of their phones buzzed as they came back within range of phone service.

Glimmer laughed as she checked hers. “Bow is  _ freaking out. _ He’s worried about us going out without Adora with so little experience. I guess he was kind of right! I’m proud of us for surviving though.”

Catra could only shake her head and grin at the message on her own phone.  _ Fucking Adora. Of course she knew. _ She held up her phone to show Glimmer Adora’s message: “Hope you two didn’t kill each other ;)”

Glimmer squealed with laughter when she read it. “She set us up! How dare she - what if we really had killed each other?”

“We are both looking a bit scratched up…”

Glimmer gave one of the dark smiles that Catra had fallen in love with over the years. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Shall we mess with her for a bit when we get back?”

Catra returned the same dark smile, pleased to be sharing one with her at last. “The only question is: who would have won our undoubtedly epic fight?”

“Me, obviously!” Glimmer challenged.

“I don’t think so!”

“Care to find out?”

“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you ‘hurt your ankle’!”

“Ugh!” Glimmer shoved Catra in the shoulder and they play-fought the rest of the way, both ending up covered in mud and laughing when they finally arrived back at the car.

Before they got in, Glimmer and Catra looked toward each other, smiling, hand-in-hand, sharing a single thought.  _ This wasn’t so bad after all _ .

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this brightened your day! It was very fun to write. Comments and kudos are very welcome! :)


End file.
